Innocent Kisses and a Flood
by ProfTweety
Summary: It was Saturday, they were off & Sharon had plans w/ Andy to go to Venice Beach for a nice long walk, a little ice cream and some shopping. When he finally answered the door he seemed frazzled, kissed her on her mouth and informed her he was flooding. Between fixing various floods, there is always time for little chaste, innocent kisses between friends. {Pretty fluffy & sweet}


_**Innocent Kisses and a Flood**_

**Disclaimer**: None of these characters are mine; James Duff, et al, has that lovely distinction.

**A/N**: So I relapsed immediately (yuck) and the sump pump decided to burn out just when five months of frozen ground and a ridiculous amount of snow started to melt and flood the basement. The muse turns out to be as much of an imp as I am and came up with this short story while I tried very hard not to cough on the plumber. _I'm always happy to hear comments. _Hope you enjoy! Respect for humanity and civility in words always wins out. Today is life!

~~~~~PT~~~~~

It was a Saturday and they were actually off this weekend. Sharon had plans with Andy to go to Venice Beach for a nice long walk, a little ice cream and of course some shopping. She seemed to always find something she could use and just as often found something for him to buy his grandsons.

Both of their names went on the gift card because, as he explained, "You are the one spoiling them and I'm the one paying for it."

She had just laughed, "Fine, put both our names on it. Nicole knows we are just friends who are not dating." He had just rolled his eyes at her and smirked but said nothing.

On this Saturday, he took so long answering his door, she had begun to think he forgot their non-date and wasn't home. When he finally answered, he seemed frazzled, kissed her on her mouth rather than her cheek, and advised, "You might wanna take your sneakers off and hike up your jeans cuz I'm flooding." He then pointed to his clothing which looked like he forgot to get undressed before he stepped in the shower.

"Andy, what happened?" she asked as she took his suggestion.

"The toilet and the sink just overflowed at the same time." Noticing her grimace, "There was nothing in either one, Funny Face."

"I'll help with whatever you need. It might not be as bad as you think it is."

"You sure?" he asked, skeptically, "cuz it just happened and it's going pretty good."

"Then we should get to it," she pursed her lips. Those new silk scarves she had her eye on the last time would have to wait even longer before they came to live in her closet. "I'll take the sink, _you_ can have the toilet," she said with a combination of smirk and grimace.

"Fine, the tools are all laid out already. I was going back and forth which didn't do much good." He sighed, shook his head and apologized. "We might not make it anywhere but here, Sharon, I'm sorry."

"Things happen, Andy, what is important is that we're still spending the day together." She kissed his cheek.

He kissed her chastely on the mouth since she hadn't mentioned anything about the previous one. "Tools, sink, kitchen," he teased.

"Caveman," she retorted back as she headed for her work area. "Why haven't you turned the water off yet, Andy?"

"I was too busy losing my mind." He almost sounded serious as he called out from the bathroom.

"I'll do it for you now."

"Thanks."

When he said the sink overflowed, he should've told her it turned into a geyser. Shaking her head, she turned the knob to shut the water off to the entire house he rented. She knew he had a good deal with his landlord to keep his rent low if he handled most repairs himself. The landlord paid for the large expenses if any came up.

Grabbing the snake, she began checking the drain for clogs. She continued digging and maneuvering until she found one, secured it on the snake and pulled it up. Once she knew there were no more, she turned the water back on to check her work; the geyser was gone and the drain cleared but a trail flowed from the cabinet under the sink. Just as she was about to get under to see what the new problem was, she heard, "Damnit, let me know when you're gonna turn it back on, would ya."

"I'm sorry, Andy, I will next time," she said as she cut the water off again. Walking over to his bathroom, she asked, "Did you get wet?"

He was drenched. "No not at all. I'm as dry as a California lawn," he groused.

Laughing, "You sound like Lt Provenza. I can now see how you two have remained such good friends all these years."

His eyes lit up with mischief as he saw her standing there trying not to laugh anymore. He pulled her into a hug. "You're nice and dry," he whispered against her ear.

"Not anymore, I'm not," she said, pulling away to look at him. "I _am_ sorry. I will remember to let you know. Right now, I have another leak to check out but your geyser is gone. Installing a garbage disposal would prevent the clog I just removed."

He kissed her mouth again. "Thanks, Sharon, who knew you were handy."

"I wasn't always in a position to just call a professional. I know how to do some minor repairs. Speaking of which, let me get back to work."

He let her out of the hug but not before kissing her mouth again. 'Little chaste innocent kisses between friends,' he thought, not daring to wonder what _she_ thought about them.

"Andy, I have to turn the water back on to find my new leak. I'm going to put my hair up though so you have a couple of minutes notice this time."

"I appreciate it, Sharon, cuz I lost my leak."

Coming back in, she was putting her hair up in a loose ponytail which she then clipped up since she had to go under the sink. "How'd you lose your leak?"

"Without the water on, I can't find it."

"I'm putting it back on now," she said walking out. She had just grabbed the snake after turning the knob and was on her way back to him when she heard, "Damnit, and I had notice." Touching his arm, "Andy, please turn off the water and I'll see if there's a clog." She rolled her eyes as he left muttering. Using the same motions on the toilet, she quickly found the first clog and removed it. Inserting the snake further, she caught and discarded the second then a third. Not feeling anymore, she left to turn the water back on.

"Sharon, it's fixed!" he yelled out to her. Then she noticed a change in his voice as he muttered, "Damnit, now the sink."

"Come and get the snake. I'm under the sink already," she called back.

Going outside he stopped short at the sight of her curled up on his floor, rubbing her hand up and down along the pipe looking for the leak.

"I found it! Andy, hand me that rag, please. I just want to mark it so I can turn the water off. _Andy_? Your bathroom is still flooding."

He shook his head, clearing his mind of not-so-innocent thoughts, "Uh yeah, rag for you, here you go, and snake for me."

She just raised her eyebrows at him as she got up to turn the water valve off again. Hearing him mutter at the sink, she decided to see what could possibly go wrong when he _only_ had to check for clogs.

"You are crappy plumbing," he was balking at the sink as he roughly jabbed at it.

Laughing at him again, she touched his hands to take the snake from him. "You're being too rough, Andy. Let me show you another way." She began slowly maneuvering the snake down the sink pipe. "See? You have to take it slow, go easy, and just move it up and down gently, carefully checking each angle." Latching onto a clog, she discarded it as he uttered, "Oh God," quietly.

Going back in to inspect further, she teased, "Should I give you the instructions again?"

"Up and down, in and out, nice and easy, finding the best angle; I got it, Sharon. Oh God," he uttered again. "I'm gonna turn the water back on, be careful."

While he was gone, she realized what she had said. 'Oh no, that didn't sound like plumbing instructions at all,' she blushed. Turning on the sink, the water drained perfectly. She flushed the toilet which drained as it should as well and no more water leaked from the lid or bottom. "Everything is fixed in here, Andy, though you should probably snake your tub just to be sure. I'll be outside with your other leak."

"You turning the water off again?"

"Yes, I know where my leak is. I just have to see why it's there. Will you be all right in here with the snake?"

"Yeah, up and down, in and out, nice and easy, finding the right angle. Oh God, yeah, I got it, Sharon, I'm good."

Smiling, "Call if you need my help." Going back outside she found the caulking someone had used previously was old and no longer working. Re-caulking the pipe seam with the blue plumbing tape caulk she found, she used another rag to dry the pipe and inspect her work. "I'm turning the water on, Andy," she called out.

"Okay," he answered as he jerked the snake too roughly.

Inspecting her work, she found it to be sufficiently repaired and holding. Going back into the bathroom, she asked about his progress.

"I'm not as successful as you apparently," he grumbled, handing her the snake.

"That's because you're too rough," she said placing her hand on his chest, "sometimes rough is nice but more often than not a gentle technique is preferred." She didn't think about her phrasing until he uttered, "Oh God," again and excused himself to clean up the water in the kitchen.

Having cleared only one clog, she went outside to update him that his entire bathroom was clog-free and all drains were working just fine. "You will have to clean up the water in there also though."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it, Sharon," he kissed her mouth again.

"Appreciate it enough to order some take-out for us?"

"Of course, I can even change into dry clothes and lend you a nice button down shirt while our stuff is in the dryer."

"Be sure to clear the lint trap as well as the vent. I don't mind helping you with leaks, Andy, but I'd like to avoid a fire if we can."

Smiling, "In my defense, we've been very busy lately."

"I know but if I didn't suggest cleaning before drying and a fire started, we might be packing you clothes to stay at my place while yours is renovated."

Thinking out loud, "That doesn't sound too bad."

"It will to your landlord," she corrected. "Thank you for the offer of a dry shirt since _you_ wet this one."

"Well, what's done is done," he said quietly as he pulled her into a hug again.

"Andy, -"

"You're already wet, I'm lending you a shirt, hell I'll _give_ it to you just to see you in one of my shirts, and I'm going to dry our clothes so we can get back in them soon." He kissed her mouth. "We can't have you going home in something different from what you left in. What would Rusty think?" he teased, kissing her again.

"Yes, what would he think indeed about me showing up wearing _your_ shirt?" She arched her eyebrow and stared at him.

"You mad at me?" he asked, suddenly concerned he had overstepped their precious line in the sand.

Taking her time to think, she finally answered, "No, I'm not angry at you, Andy." Then surprising him, she kissed him on his mouth, lingering to see what he'd do.

Pulling her closer with one hand, he let the other slip into her hair. He kept kissing her as long as he dared, never once trying to deepen it. When he saw how relaxed she was, he knew he had made the right decision.

Little chaste, innocent kisses between friends; there's nothing wrong with that.

[The End]


End file.
